Question

Consider the following salts:
Na₂CO₃, NaCl, NH₄Cl, CH₃COONa, K₂SO₄, (NH₄)₂SO₄
Which of these salts will give:

basic solutions (or alkaline solutions)?

Answer 1

The salt solutions of CH₃COONa and Na₂CO₃ are basic, because these salts are each formed from a weak acid and a strong base. The ionisation of a weak acid is not complete, whereas a strong base ionises completely. Hence, there are more OH^- ions than H⁺ ions, making the solutions basic.